Esha Deol turns emotional at Dharmendra’s Padma honour

New Delhi: Actor Esha Deol shared an emotional note for late Bollywood star and her father, Dharmendra, after he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, for his extraordinary contributions to Indian cinema and the arts.

The award was presented on Monday at the Civil Investiture Ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. It was accepted by the Bollywood star and his wife, Hema Malini. She was accompanied by her daughter, Ahana Deol.

Deol shared a series of pictures and videos, which featured Malini accepting the award on her Instagram story on Tuesday. The actor called it a “moment of pride and emotion” in the caption. 

“A moment of pride, A moment of emotion.How we so deeply wished he was present today, dressed in a crisp white shirt and blue suit, looking as handsome as always, with the excitement of a young boy going to receive the prestigious award,” she wrote.

“Yesterday, my mother represented our family and received the award. And the youngest of us, Ahana, represented all the 6 of us, his children, & shed tears & clapped in honour of our father, a man who we love, who we cherish, who we miss & who we proudly call our papa . Forever in our hearts,” she added.

Dharmendra died in November 2025, aged 89. He has featured in over 300 films.